Super Doctor - Chapter 214

Hearing the system’s sudden prompt about elevated silicon reflection, Xu Ze was momentarily stunned. Since when did the X-ray fluoroscopy have this function?

However, he didn’t have time to be surprised now. After all, many of the system’s functions were still being explored; it was impossible for him to grasp everything fully. Since the system was now indicating elevated silicon reflection, he needed to figure out what that meant.

The CT and MRI scans at the First Affiliated Hospital had shown no lung abnormalities, but his own X-ray fluoroscopy had detected something. It seemed he needed to confirm if this was the true cause of the patient’s cough.

Elevated silicon reflection was likely a sign of silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of industrial dust, commonly seen in miners. Symptoms include cough and shortness of breath, but this wasn’t certain yet.

“Provide a detailed analysis report,” Xu Ze continued to command.

Beep… Lung X-ray fluoroscopy measurement indicates the patient’s lung interstitium contains trace amounts of silicon dioxide, leading to mild interstitial pathology. The automatic response system quickly replied.

“Silicon dioxide? Silicosis?” Xu Ze raised an eyebrow in surprise. It was actually a cough caused by silicosis!

But the lung CT and MRI from the First Affiliated showed no abnormalities, so their diagnosis likely wouldn’t consider silicosis. Yet Li Moling said they had already confirmed a diagnosis. What disease could they have misdiagnosed?

Thinking of this gave Xu Ze a headache. He had already diagnosed one condition, but now he also had to figure out what disease the others had mistakenly diagnosed. This was quite a challenge.

But challenging or not, since he had made the bet with Li Moling, he had to give it some thought. Otherwise, losing wouldn’t look good on him, and losing to such a sleazy guy was also quite unacceptable.

Seeing Xu Ze frowning in difficulty, Li Moling felt even more triumphant internally. At most, you can only come to a conclusion of mycoplasma pneumonia. There’s no way you’d think of a central nervous system issue.

We had several doctors plus the director jointly consult to diagnose this condition. Let’s see how capable you really are.

Li Moling was thinking this gleefully when he saw Xu Ze turn around, look at him, and reveal a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Just as Li Moling’s triumph was growing, he heard Xu Ze say with an uncertain frown, “You probably diagnosed him with central cough, right?”

Gah… Hearing Xu Ze’s words, Li Moling’s expression instantly froze. He stared blankly at Xu Ze for a long moment before his face darkened. “Have you seen this patient’s medical records?”

Seeing Li Moling’s ugly expression and the suspicion in his eyes, Xu Ze gave a disdainful, light smile. “Dr. Li, you considered central cough for this patient because the tests didn’t show any other abnormalities, and he had a frequent dry cough, right? That’s why you made that diagnosis.”

Hearing Xu Ze’s reasoning, Li Moling snorted. “So you have seen the medical records… The consultation notes on the record explain it clearly. No wonder you could guess correctly!”

“Dr. Li… say what you will. Whether you acknowledge this bet or not…” Xu Ze shook his head lightly with a faint smile. “But your diagnosis is problematic… It’s not central cough.”

Upon hearing this, Li Moling was amused again, letting out a derisive chuckle. “What, you still think it’s a mycoplasma infection?”

“No… I assume you’ve already ruled out mycoplasma infection… This patient likely has silicosis,” Xu Ze said calmly. “You’re mistaken. Pure central cough is quite rare. In his case, the likelihood of it being caused by silicosis is very high…”

Before Xu Ze could finish, Li Moling had already burst into mocking laughter. He pointed at Xu Ze and laughed loudly, “Silicosis? Are you out of your mind? The chest X-ray and lung CT are both normal, and you’re still saying it’s silicosis?”

The students in Xu Ze’s group, who had been excited seeing that Xu Ze had actually diagnosed something, were now taken aback. They thought Xu Ze must have suddenly lost his mind. How else could he say such a thing?

The First Affiliated Hospital of Star University was one of the top-ranked hospitals in the country. How could the conclusion reached by so many senior doctors in the Respiratory Department after a joint consultation be wrong? Even if it were wrong, no matter how capable Xu Ze was, how could he possibly be better than all those senior doctors and the director?

Thinking this, everyone now looked at Xu Ze with concern, hoping he wouldn’t dwell on this issue. After all, he had already identified this “central cough” thing; he hadn’t lost…

But Xu Ze wasn’t willing to let it go so easily. First, he genuinely couldn’t stand this Li Moling. Second, since the First Affiliated had misdiagnosed the case, continuing treatment with central cough suppressants might have some temporary effect, but it wouldn’t benefit the patient in the long run. Over time, the patient’s condition might worsen. By the time silicosis was discovered later, drug treatment wouldn’t be very effective anymore.

Faced with Li Moling’s ridicule, Xu Ze chuckled lightly, choosing to ignore him. He continued questioning the patient to gather more evidence supporting his silicosis diagnosis.

The patient, having heard their exchange and seeing Xu Ze speak so confidently, although feeling this young doctor wasn’t very reliable, also began to worry. After all, his treatment hadn’t been very effective for quite some time. So when Xu Ze questioned him, he cooperated fully.

Soon, Xu Ze obtained the information he wanted. There was a large limestone mine near the patient’s home. Although he didn’t work there, a lot of dust often covered the area around his house.

Having confirmed a history of industrial dust exposure, Xu Ze felt even more certain. He turned to Li Moling and smiled, “Hear that? The patient has a history of industrial dust exposure. So silicosis is very likely. I suggest you ask Director Qian for another consultation. Otherwise, continuing with the current medication probably won’t yield good results.”

Seeing Xu Ze acting like he was lecturing him, Li Moling became furious. This patient was clearly diagnosed with central cough, yet this kid insisted on causing trouble here, even putting on airs to teach him a lesson. Who did he think he was?

Enraged, Li Moling laughed angrily, “Well, well… A mere intern is trying to teach me now? Do you think all our senior doctors and the director are worse than you, an intern?”

Just as Li Moling was about to continue reprimanding Xu Ze, the increasingly worried patient interjected, “Dr. Li, since this young doctor thinks so, why don’t you talk to Director Qian and see if we can rule it out further… That way, this young doctor will understand…”

Hearing the patient’s subtly worried words, Li Moling felt blood rushing to his face. He was truly infuriated by Xu Ze today; even the patient was being swayed by him. He then sneered angrily, “Fine! Since you insist, I’ll ask Director Qian to come take a look! Let me tell you, Xu Ze… if Director Qian says your theory has no basis, then as an intern, you’ll be disrupting our hospital’s medical order and damaging our hospital’s reputation. Let’s see if you can take responsibility for that!”

“Alright… Please ask Director Qian to come take a look… It’s also being responsible to the patient,” Xu Ze said with a light, indifferent smile. He actually hoped Director Qian would come. Only by convincing him could the patient’s diagnosis be corrected, and only then could Li Moling’s arrogance be subdued.

Li Moling ran to the director’s office, embellishing the story, saying Xu Ze was damaging the hospital’s reputation. When Director Qian came over, his expression wasn’t very pleasant. This Xu Ze really knew how to stir up trouble…

However, since the patient requested it, he naturally had to examine the patient carefully to address his concerns.

After entering, although his expression was stern, he still asked Xu Ze why he suspected the diagnosis. After all, Xu Ze was quite familiar with his superior, Zhang Lide, the director of the Internal Medicine Department, who had instructed that Xu Ze could observe any patient freely. So he gave Xu Ze some face. If it were anyone else, he would have probably taken them to the office for a scolding long ago.

Facing Qian Zhixun, Xu Ze showed no fear whatsoever. He explained the findings from his questioning. Of course, he couldn’t say he had discovered trace amounts of silicon dioxide (silica dust) in the patient’s lung interstitium.

He simply advised, “The patient has a long-term history of industrial dust exposure and presents with an irritating dry cough. I think we should consider this possibility… Early, subtle changes of silicosis sometimes aren’t clearly detectable on X-rays or CT scans either…”

Hearing Xu Ze’s words, Qian Zhixun’s expression became somewhat serious. Some of what Xu Ze said had stirred a sliver of concern in him. During the consultation, he had diagnosed central cough precisely because none of the tests showed any abnormalities.

But if what Xu Ze said was true, then the possibility of silicosis wasn’t entirely out of the question…

His expression towards Xu Ze softened slightly. He then proceeded to question the patient again in detail, focusing primarily on aspects related to silicosis.

Meanwhile, Li Moling, seeing that Director Qian, despite his earlier report, hadn’t directly reprimanded the intern and was even politely inquiring and seriously considering the intern’s opinion, seemingly swayed, felt even more frustrated.